USA Today via Reuters
Mar 12, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Naomi Osaka (JPN) wipes her face as she talks to referee Claire Wood after a spectator disrupted play, yelling Naomi you suck, before the start of her 2nd round match against Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) at the BNP Paribas open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 12, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Naomi Osaka (JPN) wipes her face as she talks to referee Claire Wood after a spectator disrupted play, yelling Naomi you suck, before the start of her 2nd round match against Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) at the BNP Paribas open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Now a household name, Naomi Osaka, has emerged as one of the top tennis players in the world. She is one of those rare players with such an impressive track record at a young age. Osaka has been a pioneer in a number of areas, including openly advocating for the value of mental health and proudly representing her culture. And let’s not forget that at age 24, she has already won four Grand Slam titles and reached a career-high No. 1 ranking.
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Despite making steady progress throughout the tour, she has struggled with her mental health on numerous occasions. In one of her interviews, Osaka spoke about her struggles in terms of her mental health.
Naomi Osaka, on the media attention she got post her mental health issues
In one of her interviews, Naomi Osaka recently talked about her mental health struggles and the kind of media attention she got after Michael Phelps? mental health revelation. ?Honestly, I was a bit embarrassed, ’cause I’ve never received, like, media attention like that before. And I didn’t really know how to cope with it. I don’t know, I was kind of hiding inside my house for, like, two weeks.? said the 24-year-old.?
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 31, 2022; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Naomi Osaka (JPN) is overcome with emotion after her match against Belinda Bencic (SUI)(not pictured) in a women’s singles semifinal in the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
She further said, “But when I came out to, like, go to the grocery store or something, there was a woman that came up to me. And she was saying how her son deals with anxiety and stuff and I really helped him out a lot.“
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The 2018 US Open finals triumph over Serena Williams catapulted the Japanese star to new heights on the WTA tour. However, the Japanese star has not been victorious on the tennis court since the 2021 Australian Open.?
Osaka?s noteworthy performance during this season
Naomi Osaka played exceptionally well at the Miami Open despite dealing with a number of injuries. She got off to a good start in the competition by beating the German tennis player Angelique Kerber in the first round. She then advanced to the quarterfinals by beating American tennis players Alison Riske-Amritraj and Danielle Collins.
WATCH THE STORY: Piers Morgan once labelled Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka a fraud for throwing racket-breaking tantrums on court
After that, Osaka advanced to the finals of the Miami Open by beating the Swiss star Belinda Bencic. Unfortunately, Osaka lost the final to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek despite playing exceptionally well.
